Is Marriage a Joke?

Has marriage become a joke? Following the public divorce of Basketball dunk artist Chris Humphries and reality TV star Kim Kardashian, popular opinion would say yes.

A twitter update from George Takei, Mr. Sulu from StarTrek, said this:

Kim Kardashian files for divorce after 72 days. Another example of how same-sex marriage is destroying the sanctity of the very institution.

Takei, openly gay, makes a strong facetious statement. Heterosexuals may pose the greatest argument that marriage is just a social contract.

President Barak Obama, at a White House Correspondents' Association Dinner in May of 2009 told a joke regarding his staffer David Axelrod. President Obama said many years ago he called Axelrod and told him, "you and I could do wonderful things together." Obama went on to tell the gathering at the White House, "He said what partners all over America are saying to me right now. Let's go to Iowa and make it official."

The play that marriage is a type of purchase agreement contract isn't solely coming from the homosexual community. Nor is it solely believed by the homosexual community. A recent Pew Reserch Center study revealed that many young Americans believe marriage is obsolete. Defining marriage as the monogamous relationship shared by a man and a woman, young Americans haven't turned out to defend this stance.

What used to be an institution bringing two sexes together around the mutual task of forming homes and raising the next generation of children, has instead become a list of temporary bargains between adults. This redefining of a Biblical institution has brought about a less child-centered, duty-based, and future-focused generation. This distraction is bearing consequences.

Studies from the National Marriage Project put out by the University of Virginia state that the redefinition of marriage, particularly in the middle-class, is depressing. The research identifies children, operating outside of an intact marriage, are less likely to be directed positively by their parents. The study shows they are less likely to strive to succeed, more likely to fall into poverty and idleness, and less likely to form functioning families of their own.

What was given to mankind as a union to enable a filling and care taking of the earth, has turned into a social contract that can be voided on a whim. Consequences to this redefinition are showing a significant hindrance to the upcoming generation who have inherited a new concept of marriage. The Heritage Foundation has found a 41 percent growth in economic inequality from 1976-2000 that can be attributed to the retreat of marriage.

The Biblical design of marriage is being challenged. What was once a picture of God's image, directing man and woman to fill the earth and enhance it, has turned into a financial play, equality argument and political position.

Economically, socially and spiritually, the design of marriage bears God's image. Similar to the serpent's lies about Adam and Eve bearing this image, the challenges today are enticing and appealing. We must speak-up, remembering and defending the image-bearers we are.

Pray for our students as they are trained to defend the Biblical view of marriage and relationships. They're equipped with God's word and social statistics. They're being sent into a crooked and depraved generation that has lost track of God's design. Our students are yearning to redeem their culture back to Christ. Join us in equipping them.